Government to consider nuclear-free option

In the face of strident anti-nuclear public sentiment, the government will consider abandoning nuclear power generation, sources said, a turnaround from its previous stance of continued reliance.

In response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, the government proposed three options for the ratio of nuclear energy in power generation in 2030—zero percent, 15 percent and 20-25 percent—as a basis for a new energy policy.

To facilitate a "national debate" on the options, the government conducted deliberative polling, held public hearings and sought public opinion through the Internet and other means from July to August.

Now, a government panel tasked with analyzing the results of that debate is set to conclude that many citizens favor a nuclear-free society, the sources said. The government had previously expected to choose the 15-percent option.

The panel, set up earlier in August, is headed by national policy minister Motohisa Furukawa and comprises eight private-sector experts in opinion polling and other areas.

The strong support for the nuclear-free option has made it difficult for the government to stick to its preferred 15-percent option.

"We cannot win the upcoming election unless we put up a zero-percent policy," a Lower House member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan said.

Opponents to the zero-percent option are expected to express concerns about adverse impacts on households and businesses, such as higher electricity bills.

Critics are also expected to argue that giving up on nuclear energy will conflict with the government's traditional nuclear fuel recycling policy.

If it does move forward with the zero-percent option, the government will likely set preconditions for the shift, and might not specify a target year for achieving a nuclear-free society, the sources said.

IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--A high school student who thought she was only temporarily fleeing her home during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and remains an evacuee to this day, will address an event at the United Nations headquarters this month.

Three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. will stand trial over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster after an independent judicial panel of citizens on July 31 again decided that mandatory indictments are warranted.

Nuclear plant workers in Japan will be allowed to be exposed to more than twice the current level of radiation in emergency situations, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s Radiation Council.

OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture--Tokyo Electric Power Co. on July 28 started removing a canopy covering a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to prepare for the eventual extraction of spent nuclear fuel inside.